Method and apparatus for presenting and aggregating information related to the sale of multiple goods and services

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method can automatically present a plurality of selectable rich media video clips associated with goods and/or services offered for sale via an interactive networked communication system including at least one client and at least one server. A request to the server can be initiated at the client via the interactive networked communication system to select a plurality of rich media video clips from a database of rich media video clips associated with corresponding goods and/or services. A static descriptor can be displayed on the client for each of the plurality of rich media video clips as selected and received from the server. The plurality of rich media video clips can automatically be presented on the client in a concatenated sequence in a continuous rich media video stream.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a U.S. Continuation Application of U.S.application Ser. No. 11/999,523, filed on Dec. 4, 2007, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/753,412,filed May 24, 2007, the contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the generation and productionof video advertisements to be presented via the Internet. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatusfor high quality mass production of customized video clips for thepromotion of products and services.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Internet has become an increasingly important part of the salesindustry. Today, many buyers perform some kind of online research priorto making purchases. Not surprisingly, Internet advertising has steadilyincreased as a percentage of all advertising.

Developments such as these have spawned an entire industry thatspecializes in providing services relating to the creation anddissemination of advertising content. These kinds of business generallyuse the Internet infrastructure to some degree.

As the number of buyers and sellers using the Internet increases, theamount of product related information available on the Internet hasproliferated. Most of this information is relatively undifferentiated,necessitating considerable time and effort on the potential buyer's partto tease out the information he or she seeks. One way to differentiate agiven seller is to create advertisements that stand out from the crowdor increase the amount of time that is spent at the seller's web site soas to improve the chances of making a sale to the web visitor.

While customized audiovisual advertisements are known to be moreattractive and increase the time a potential buyer spends at a website,the costs involved in producing and disseminating high quality, highbandwidth advertisements would be cost prohibitive if professional videoproduction were used. This problem is further compounded when there is aneed to efficiently and professionally create a multitude of unique,customized advertisements for the various products being sold by a givenseller.

There are several techniques and technologies that make it possible toautomate the creation of rich media content and make it possible tocreate productions involving the real-time display of images and textsynchronized to an audio track, for example. These include animationtools (e.g. Flash from Macromedia Inc.), authoring tools for streamingmedia (e.g. RealPlayer from Real Networks Inc.), digital cameras, videorecorders, commercial software packages such as for example,MovingPicture software from StageTools LLC in conjunction with videoeditors such as Adobe Premiere or Avid Xpress DV.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,685 and U.S. Patent Publ. No. 20020175917A1 describegeneralized video editing systems for working with streaming media andvideo clips. U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,981 describes a system for videoplay-back of a still image with an image generator for generating apanoramic image by stitching together a plurality of images.

Various systems and techniques have been developed to aid in theproduction of rich media audiovisual content that includes text to beread accompanying the video footage. In the broadcast news editingsystem described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,685, for example, selected videoclips are linked to a script text by embedding edit link controlsequences into the text at selected points. The control sequences in thescript text are linked to an edit decision list (EDL) that defines thevideo clips that are to be synchronized to the script text. In preparinga news story for broadcast, the EDL is used to generate the videoportion of the broadcast with the synchronized text displayed forreading by a news announcer. U.S. Pat. No. 6,654,930 discloses a similarediting system for producing video news footage that displays a sequenceof text associated with a sequence of video frames, defining time codesin the text and a reading rate to indicate whether the text matches thevideo sequence.

It is also known to distribute such rich media content via email. U.S.Patent Publ. No. 20040019648A1 describes a facility for generating andpresenting rich media email messages. U.S. Patent Publ. No.20060168064A1 describes a message management system for creating and/oradapting electronic messages with digital content.

Unfortunately, the learning curve to use these products can besubstantial and the amount of time required to produce any givencustomized video segment is often measured in hours, not minutes. As aresult, mass production of customized rich media audiovisual contentusing skilled operators can be cost prohibitive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a method and system for highquality semi-automatic production of customized rich media video clips.Media source material, such as text, graphics, pictures, and video clipscan be submitted by a customer. A computerized content aggregatorutilizing an automated production assistant can locate additional sourcematerial by searching available information libraries and databases. Thecomputerized content aggregator may be programmed to organize andassemble the various source materials to create suggested video elementsand a suggested voice-over script or recording. A human video producercan then quickly and efficiently create a rich media video clip from thesuggested video elements and the voice-over script or recording.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, high quality customized richmedia video clips are produced through a semi-automatic method. Mediasource material can initially be received over an electronic network.Available electronic information libraries can then be automaticallysearched for previously produced rich media video clips and rich mediavideo clip components related to the received media source materialthrough an automated process. Commercially available databases can alsobe searched for database information related to the received mediasource material through an automated process. The media source material,previously produced rich media video clips and/or rich media video clipcomponents, and database information can then be automaticallytranslated into a suggested voice-over script or recording. Suggestedvideo elements derived from the media source material, previouslyproduced rich media video clips and rich media video clip components,and/or database information can be automatically organized andassembled. A rich media video clip can then be created by a humanoperator based on the suggested voice-over script or recording and thesuggested video elements.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, high quality customizedrich media video clips can be produced with a semi-automatic system. Thesystem can include a user interface configured to facilitate thetransmission of media source material. A computerized content aggregatorcan be configured to receive the transmitted media source material. Anautomated production assistant in communication with the computerizedcontent aggregator can search information libraries for previouslyproduced rich media video clips and rich media video clip componentsrelated to the received media source material and one or morecommercially available databases for database information related to thereceived media source material. The automated production assistant canbe configured to communicate data to the computerized content aggregatorin the form of the previously produced rich media video clips and richmedia video clip components and/or database information it locatedrelated to the received media source material. The content aggregatorcan be configured to produce production instructions that include, forexample, a suggested voice-over script or recording and also suggestvideo elements based on the data received from the automated productionassistant and the received media source material. A video creationproject element file can contain the production instructions andsuggested video elements. A user interface can be configured to enable ahuman operator to utilize the video creation project element file tocreate a rich media video clip.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-implementedmethod can automatically present a plurality of selectable rich mediavideo clips associated with goods and/or services offered for sale viaan interactive networked communication system. A request to a server canbe initiated at a client via the interactive networked communicationsystem to select a plurality of rich media video clips from a databaseof rich media video clips associated with corresponding goods and/orservices. A static descriptor can be displayed on the client for each ofthe plurality of rich media video clips as selected and received fromthe server. The plurality of rich media video clips can automatically bepresented on the client in a concatenated sequence in a continuous richmedia video stream. In certain embodiments, a special offer associatedwith the corresponding good and/or service for one or more of the richmedia video clips can be presented together with the corresponding onesof the rich media video clips.

The above summary of the various representative embodiments of theinvention is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment orevery implementation of the invention. Rather, the embodiments arechosen and described so that others skilled in the art may appreciateand understand the principles and practices of the invention. Thefigures in the detailed description that follows more particularlyexemplify these embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a method and system for high qualitysemi-automatic production of customized rich media video clips accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a screenshot of an order selection page of a user interfaceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a screenshot of a start page of a user interface according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a screenshot of a file upload page of a user interfaceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a screenshot of a file upload page of a user interfaceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a screenshot of a processing screen of a user interfaceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a screenshot of a file upload page of a user interfaceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a screenshot of a project notes page of a user interfaceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a screenshot of a create video page of a user interfaceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a screenshot of a create video page of a user interfaceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a screenshot of a create-video confirmation page of a userinterface according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a screenshot of a processing page of a user interfaceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a screenshot of a file upload page of a user interfaceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating the operation of the automaticscript generator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 depicts an edit mode of a user interface of an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the editing software of an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 17 depicts a teleprompter area of the editing software according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a notification email according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 19 is a customer webpage displaying a broadcast qualityadvertisement according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a method and system for high qualitysemi-automatic production of customized rich media video clips accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 illustrates generally a block diagram of avenues for theconveyance of information relating to the sale of goods and/or servicesto consumers.

FIG. 22 illustrates generally a block diagram of a work order accordingto the subject matter disclosed herein.

FIG. 23 illustrates generally a flow chart diagram of the operation ofcontent distributor according to the subject matter disclosed herein.

FIG. 24 illustrates generally a block diagram of the display of contentaccording to the subject matter disclosed herein.

FIG. 25 illustrates generally a block diagram of various resourcesavailable to content management engine 2105.

FIG. 26 illustrates generally a block diagram showing creation of avideo through a combination of human effort and logic.

FIG. 27 shows click behavior of customers on dealer and aggregationengine websites.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a method and system 100 for highquality semi-automatic production of customized rich media video clips.Rich media, as the term is used in this invention, may be exemplified bya broad range of digital information consisting of any combination ofaudio, graphics, video, voice and animation delivered over the Internetor similar networked arrangement of electronic devices. For purposes ofthis invention, a clip is a set of contiguous frames of a video streamor segment, and each frame is a single, still image taken from arecorded video or video-like animation.

System 100 enables manual or semi-automated mass-customization of richmedia by integrating information representing diverse input media sourcematerial into a rich media video clip that can be stored at one or morerepositories and distributed on-demand over a communication network toone or more end-users situated at widely dispersed geographicallocations. The input media source material may include motion video suchas video vignettes captured from a camera or camcorder with or withoutan accompanying soundtrack, digital or digitized stillimages/photographs, audio such as music or speech and static or animatedgraphics and text or other formats which may be incorporated into richmedia presentations. The rich media video clips are adapted fordistribution using traditional and contemporary information transmissionchannels such as for example, by integration into e-mail, videostreaming over the Internet, file-sharing, web-page loading,broadcasting, multicasting and pod-casting.

Referring again to FIG. 1, production of a rich media clip for acustomer by a third party may be initiated by a customer in one ofseveral ways. A customer can place an order for a rich media video clipthrough a networked user interface, such as via the Internet, at step102. The customer can upload media source material and instructions foruse in creating the rich media video clip via a user interface at step104. Media source material that may be uploaded include the customer'sprint ads, TV spots, video clips, or a series of digital pictures. Wherea customer has previously uploaded media source material, an order canbe placed and a rich media video clip can be produced without the needto upload additional source material. The customer can alternativelyupload rich media elements via a direct feed, such as a file transferprotocol (ftp) link, at step 106. The customer then contractually agreesthat media source material sent via direct feed will initiate a richmedia video clip that will be put into a customer library and ontospecified websites for marketing purposes. Media source material canalso be transmitted through manual e-mail, snail mail, track, or manualupload track at step 107.

In one embodiment, a “customer” is typically a seller of goods orservices. The customer contacts the third party video producer in orderto have a rich media video clip promoting one or more of its productsdeveloped. The customer can then place the rich media video clip ontoits website where it will be viewed by potential purchasers of itsproducts.

FIGS. 2-13 depict screenshots of a user interface 200 which can be usedby the customer to upload media source material and instructions. Userinterface 200 will typically be accessed by a customer on a desktop orlaptop computer, but can also be used on any device with a visualdisplay that is capable of communicating over the internet, such as apersonal digital assistant or a cellular phone. FIG. 2 depicts an orderselection page 202. The order selection page 202 includes links 204,206, 208, 210 for various services offered by a third party videoproducer. One link 204 can provide the customer with the option ofuploading a TV advertisement or other pre-existing video for display.Other links can be present to provide to allow the customer to choosewhich type of media source material to upload for creation of a richmedia video clip. For example, there can be an upload digital pictureslink 206, an upload newspaper ad link 208, and an upload miscellaneousfiles, such as, for example, video files, pdf's, or jpeg's, link 210. Inone embodiment, next to each link there can be a price listing 212 foreach service as well as links 214 that describe each service in greaterdetail.

Once the customer selects a service from the order selection page 202, astart page 204 such as that depicted in FIG. 3 can appear. The startpage 204 can list the steps which the customer must accomplish to beginthe process of having a rich media video clip. The steps are uploadingmedia source material 218, adding project notes 220, and creating andorganizing the desired video content 222.

The customer can then advance to a file upload page 224, such as one ofthe file upload pages 224 depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5. File upload pagecan include a title box 226 for entering a name for the project.Depending on the type of project selected by the customer, variousselection boxes 228-240 can appear on the file upload page 224. Forexample, an any file box 228, a video clip box 230, an image box 232, anewspaper ad box 234, a pdf or doc box 236, and a zip file box 238 canbe present to allow for the uploading of the various listed file types.Alternatively, where only digital pictures are being uploaded, the fileupload page 224 can include only a digital picture box 240 (FIG. 5).Each selection box 228-240 can include a browse button 242 to allow thecustomer to locate the desired file on the customer's system. The fileupload page 224 can also include boxes into which the customer caninsert its name 244 and email address 246. The selected files can beuploaded by pressing an upload files button 248.

As files are uploaded, a processing screen 250 (FIG. 6) may appear todisplay a processing message 251 to inform the customer that its filesare in the process of being uploaded. As each file is uploaded, theupload file page 224 can be updated to reflect the uploaded files asshown in FIG. 7. The upload file page 224 can provide a list 252 of theuploaded files. The list 252 can include a thumbnail 254 and the name ofthe file 256 as well as the title of the project 258 that the filebelongs to. A file can be removed from the list of uploaded files by useof a cancel or remove feature 260.

After the customer has uploaded all of the files it wishes to submit,the customer can move on to the add project notes step 220 at an projectnotes page 262 such as that depicted in FIG. 8. Project notes 264 can beadded in a notes box 266. The project notes page 262 can allow thecustomer to select either a basic text box option 268 or a rich texteditor option 270 for entering its project notes. The customer can alsoselect from various data format options, such as a text option 272, anhtml option 274, or a raw option 276 to specify the format in which itwishes to enter the data that comprises its project notes.

Referring now to FIGS. 9-11, once the customer has added its projectnotes, the customer can proceed to the step of creating its video 222.Where the customer has uploaded multiple files to be used in thecreation of a video production, thumbnails 280 of the files can be putinto the order the customer wishes them to appear in the rich mediavideo clip on a create video page 278. The thumbnails 280 can bearranged by various methods, including dragging and dropping them in thedesired order into a designated area 282 or by designating a number foreach thumbnail 280 representing the order in which it is to appear. Inone embodiment, a description can be associated with each file byclicking on the file's thumbnail 280 and entering text into a photodescription box 284. The create video page 278 can also include a viewslideshow link 286 that allows a customer to view a slideshow of itsfiles in the selected order. The selected order can be saved with a savelayout button 288. Once the customer is satisfied with the layout anddescription of its files, it can click on a create video link 289.

When the create video link 286 is selected, a create video confirmationpage 288 can appear. Create video confirmation page 288 can include thethumbnail 280 of each file in the selected order. The description 290associated with each file can be located adjacent to its respectivethumbnail 280. The project notes 292 for the project can also bedisplayed on the create video confirmation page 288. The description 290and project notes 292 can later be used to develop a script for avoiceover to be used with the rich media video clip. The customer canconfirm an order by clicking the confirm button 294. If the customerwishes to change or cancel an order, the customer can click the cancelbutton 296.

Once the customer has confirmed an order, a processing page 297 canappear with a message informing the customer that the order is beingprocessed 298 while the order is communicated to the third party videoproducer (FIG. 12). Once the third party video producer has received theorder, a pop-up confirmation message 299 can appear to confirm that theorder has been received.

The above steps taken by the customer to submit files and instructionscan be done in a sequential order in order to provide completeinformation to the third party video producer. This provides for a moreorganized submission and allows for faster video production by the thirdparty video producer. Alternatively, the customer may complete only someof the steps. For example, the customer can access a file upload page300 from which the customer only selects files for upload 302, adds abrief summary of the project 304, adds a description of the files 306,and uploads the files 307. The third party video producer will then fillin the gaps in the information received, such as project notes orarrangement of files, to create a rich media video clip. Similarly, if acustomer submits files in an unorganized fashion, such as by attachingthem to an email, the third party video producer will generate anyadditional information necessary to produce a rich media video clip.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the customer's instructions and uploadedmedia source material are transferred over a network 110 and received bya computerized content aggregator 130. The content aggregator 130 isprogrammed to review the various input from the customer and exerciseslogic to translate the input into appropriate work orders and productioninstructions for submission to the third party video producer.

In one embodiment, the computerized content aggregator 130 includes anautomated production assistant 120 that is programmed to utilize variousautomated processes and libraries 122 to aid in organizing and servingup suggested video elements that the third party video producer can useto create a rich media video clip. The automated processes and libraries122 can include pre-produced intra and outro segments designed for adsof the specific customer, clips, voiceovers, and script templatespreviously produced for the customer, and an automated script developertool. The production assistant may also be programmed to access variousdatabases that contain descriptive information uniquely identified withthe product that is the subject of the customer's order.

In one example embodiment, a VIN database includes information aboutspecific cars or an MLS database includes information about specificreal estate properties. In such databases, a unique identifiercorresponds to each item in the database. When the unique identifier isentered into the computerized content aggregator, the automatedproduction assistant may be programmed to access these databases toobtain further information, such as description or images, on thefeatures of the corresponding item. This information can then also beused in selecting and constructing the suggested video elements packagedfor the third party video producer.

In another example embodiment, databases of the customer's products orservices and prepared marketing and rich media materials, as well asdatabases of the customer's customer lists, may be automaticallyaccessed and compared as part of the process executed by the automatedproduction assistant. In another aspect of this embodiment, thecompleted rich media clips may be automatically emailed to a selectedsubset determined from the customer's customer database to matchattributes corresponding to the particular work order used to generatethe customized rich media clip. For example, the work order may specifythat a recipient of the email containing the rich media clip may beentitled to a special offer on a new vehicle if they are willing totrade in their existing vehicle. In this example, the recipients may beselected from the customer list for those recipients who have anexisting vehicle that matches the desired criteria of, for example, aused vehicle for which there is a current increased demand.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating the operation of one embodimentof the automatic script generator 400 that can be utilized by theautomated production assistant 120. As seen in FIG. 14, block 402represents a feature vector 404 for the rich media video clip after itis populated with select alphanumeric descriptors 406. The selectalphanumeric descriptors are generated based on the file descriptions290 submitted by the customer and/or the feature descriptions obtainedfrom a proprietary database. In one embodiment, the automatic scriptgenerator 400 includes a natural language processor 408 communicatingwith a database 410 comprising a plurality of templates 412. Eachtemplate is a lexically meaningful sentence of connected words whichinclude the alphanumeric descriptor or descriptors 406 corresponding toeach file or feature description. Each file or feature may be associatedwith a plurality of templates and each template may represent a variantof a sentence in a selected language. Each variant of the sentencecreatively conveys the essence of the associated file or feature with aslant tailored to a particular promotion related theme.

In one embodiment, a natural language processor 408 collects the set ofsentences corresponding to the plurality of templates 412 associatedwith the alphanumeric descriptors 406 populating the feature vector 404and generates a text message or script that is substantiallygrammatically correct by using natural language processing principleswell known in the art. In one embodiment, the script is uploaded to ascript library accessible to the automated production assistant 120 andcatalogued for easy search using a search key derived from the featurevector 404. A future rich media video clip order that leads to anoccurrence of the feature vector 404 may trigger the retrieval of scriptfrom the script library into computerized content aggregator 130 insteadof triggering the automatic script generator 400.

The content aggregator 130 places the suggested video and scriptelements in a video creation project element file 140 which istransmitted to the third party video producer. A human operator 144 atthe third party video producer can then import the video creationproject element file 140 into a user interface 142. User interface 142can be a user interface 144 of any known commercially available videoproduction software, such as, for example, MovingPicture software fromStageTools LLC. Alternatively, user interface 142 can be a userinterface 500 of a proprietary video production software of the thirdparty video producer.

FIG. 15 depicts an edit mode of a proprietary user interface 500 thatprovides the edit controls 502 necessary to affect the transformation ofthe selected video elements from the video creation project element file140 into a rich media video clip. User interface 500 is provided withintuitive controls such that an operator 144 can quickly and efficientlyproduce a rich media video clip based on decisions made by the humanoperator 144, and in some embodiments, a customized voice over recordedby the human operator 144, without the need for specialized training.

In one embodiment, user interface 500 is configured with an input box504 for operator input of an alphanumeric input representing a uniquedatabase identifier, a review area 506, a storyboarding area 508,playback area 510 and a teleprompter area 512. Review area 506 has afirst region 514 and a second region 516. First region 514 presents theoperator 144 with thumbnail icons 518 characterizing the selected videoelements and script. Exemplary thumbnail icons 518 include a stillimages icon, a motion video icon, an audio track icon and a script trackicon. The absence of one or more types of selected video elements maycause the icon 518 corresponding to that type of media to not display inthe first region 514. Other equivalent means can be used to indicate thepresence or absence of a particular component. Operator selection of,for example, the still images icon, causes the selected still digitalphotographs (i.e. frames) to display in the second region 516 of thereview area 506. Operator 144 can construct a key frame set 520 bytransferring (e.g. by dragging the frames) a selected number of thestill digital photographs (or frames) to the storyboarding area 508.Operator selection of a motion video icon will cause a video vignette ofthe selected frames to play in the playback area 51 Playback controls522 may also be used to adjust the frame speed and a rectilinear cursormay be used to grab a thumbnail 518 and cause it to be added to the keyframe set 520. The operator 144 can edit the key frame set 520 by usingintuitive frame-edit controls in the storyboarding area 508.

Editing software 550 can take as input the key frame set 520. In oneembodiment of FIG. 16, the editing software 550 may be either linear ornon-linear. In one embodiment, the editing software 550 is a componentof a virtual ‘studio in a box’ hardware-software package, such asCreation Station solution by UnityWorks! Media, the assignee of thepresent invention. Creation Station comprises a video camera and greenscreen lights in addition to the editing software 550 and provides fullvideo production, editing and streaming capabilities.

In an example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 16, editing software 550 isoperable in a semi-automatic mode, i.e. through the intermediation ofthe operator 144 interacting with the editing software 550 through theuser interface 500 displayed on a display device 552 of a computer. Theediting software 500 “stitches” still frames 554 or other video elementsin the key frame set 520 into a rich media video clip by adding dynamicmotion through a predefined set of motion-effects. Exemplarymotion-effects include still, pan, tilt, zoom, cut, wipe, fade anddissolve. Each still frame is subjected to one or more of motion effectsto create animated sub clips. In effect, each motion effect involvescreating a sequence of sub-frames from the single frame representing thestill frame. The sequence of sub-frames represent periodic snapshots ofthe view within a window bounding a limited region of the still framewhile the window is 1) moved continuously in a horizontal direction overthe still frame in either a left or a right direction (i.e. panning)and/or 2) tilted continuously up or down in a vertical direction (i.e.tilting) and/or 3) scaled continuously to zoom in and/or zoom out.Animated sub clips associated with the key frames may be “stitched”together into a rich media video clip through appropriate cuts, wipes,fades and dissolves. Finally, an intro segment can be pre-pended to therich media video clip and an outro segment can be appended to the richmedia video clip to generate a broadcast quality video.

In another embodiment, video editors such as Adobe Premiere or AvidXpress DV may be used for rendering the combination of the rich mediavideo clip, the intro segment and the outro segment into the broadcastquality video. The playback area 510 of the proprietary user interface500 also provides the facility to render the video. The operator 144 mayiteratively modify the video when needed using the editing software 550.In one embodiment, the editing software 550 is configured to adjust themedia effects employed to generate the rich media video clip so that thetotal playtime of the broadcast quality video is less than about aminute, such as about 42 seconds.

FIG. 17 exemplifies one embodiment of a teleprompter area 512. Uponoperator activation of the audio track icon 560, the script 562generated by the automated production assistant 120 is displayed in theteleprompter area 512. User activated controls 564 in the teleprompterarea 512 may be used to adjust the rate at which the script 562 may bedisplayed or scrolled, for example. A slider control 566 is providedwhere the length of the slot 568 represents 100% of the time duration toscroll the current script 562 in its entirety. The slider control 566can be moved left or right by the operator 144 to vary the time at whichplayback of the video is automatically initiated relative to thescrolling duration of the script 562.

In one embodiment, the operator, such as a person who has beenprofessionally voice trained, reads the script 562 as it scrolls in theteleprompter area 512 to create a voice-over capsule. Alternatively, thescript 562 can be displayed in a static presentation. Operator selectionof a voice over icon in the user activated controls 564 initiates arecording of the operator's voice. The playback of the videocontemporaneous with the scrolling of the script 562 provides a visualcue to help the operator adjust the pace of delivery and the tone ofvoice to the contents of the video. Once recorded, the voice-overcapsule may be replayed to synchronize it with the video. The editorsoftware 550 combines the audio of the voice-over capsule with the videoof the rich media promo to generate a broadcast quality advertisement.Alternatively, instead of an operator reading script 562 to generate thevoice over, editing software 550 can be adapted to automaticallygenerate the voice over. Editing software 550 can auto-generate asimulation of a human voice for the voice over using human voicesimulation techniques commonly known in the art. As a furtheralternative, editing software 550 can be adapted to stitch togetherpre-recorded words or phrases to create the voice over.

In an alternate embodiment, the voice-over capsule is created before thecreation of the rich media video clip and the duration of the audio inthe voice-over capsule defines the total playtime of the rich mediapromo. Irrespective of whether the voice-over capsule is created beforeor after the rich media promo, the total time it takes the operator 144to create a broadcast quality advertisement is less than about tenminutes and in one embodiment is less than two to three minutes.

Upon completion of the broadcast quality advertisement, the third partyvideo producer can send an email 308 to the customer to notify it thatits order has been completed (FIG. 18). Within the email 308, thecustomer can select a specific video 312 from a specific customerlibrary 310 to display the source code 314 for the advertisement. Thecustomer can then embed the source code 314 within its website 318 toallow the display of its broadcast quality advertisement 316 (FIG. 19).In an alternate embodiment, the email may contain either 1) an iframecode that may be inserted by the customer into a web page such that thepage may be served up by the customer, or 2) a link to the rich mediaclip. In another embodiment, the third party video producer may becontracted to promulgate emails containing the rich media clip, such as,for example, by incorporating an iframe or link to the rich media clipin an email as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 20050240596A1,the disclosure of the detailed description of the invention which ishereby incorporated by reference other than the express definitionscontained therein.

Referring now to FIG. 20 there can be seen another diagram illustratinga method and system for high quality semi-automatic production ofcustomized rich media video clips according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. The various elements of the diagram identified by thevarious reference characters have already been described in reference tothe previous Figures.

FIG. 21 generally illustrates a block diagram of the presentation ofinformation relating to the sale of goods and/or services to consumers2106. Although described with reference to automobile sales, it is to beunderstood that the distribution of information relating to any goodsand/or services are within the scope of the invention. In certainembodiments, the present invention has particular applicability to goodsand services that are either individually unique or more expensive, likedurable goods, or both. Consumers 2106 can access websites of customers2107 for information. Customers can include car dealers 2101, or groupsof dealers, whose websites convey information to consumers 2106 relatingto the goods and/or services made available by the dealers. Othercustomers can include aggregation engines 2102 whose websites conveyinformation to consumers 2106 relating to goods and/or services of avariety of dealers 2101, including new car dealers, used car dealers,and individuals attempting to sell a cars themselves. Aggregation engine2102 websites can include, for example, websites such as Autotrader andcars.com. Aggregation engine 2102 websites can acquire informationrelating to the goods and/or services provided by dealers 2101 directlyfrom communication with dealers 2101 themselves. Aggregation engine 2102websites can also acquire information by accessing the content availableon dealer 2101 websites, or through content created for other avenues ofcontent distribution such as television, radio, or print media.

Content distributor 2103 can receive and provide information relating togoods and/or services offered by customers 2107 such as dealers 2101 andaggregation engines 2102. Such information can include pictures, video,descriptive text, specials, or sale prices relating to goods and/orservices. Content distributor 2103 can be made available to customers2107, such as dealer 2101 and aggregation engine 2102, by means commonlyknown, for example a database or website, or by interactive custom cableor satellite television channels accessible over an interactivenetworked communication system. Interactive networked communicationsystem includes at least one server and at least one clientinterconnected with the server. The client is the computer, interactivetelevision, or other device of the customer. Interactive networkedcommunication system can include one server or multiple servers and oneclient or multiple clients.

FIG. 22 generally illustrates a block diagram of a work order 2201 thatcan be input by a customer 2107 of content distributor 2103. Work order2201 may contain information as previously discussed herein, such ascontent to be included in a rich media video clip. Work order 2201 mayfurther contain information relating to a goods/services database 2202,for example a VIN database or MLS database. Goods/services database 2202includes information about specific cars (VIN database) or real estateproperties (MLS database), or other specific identifications of goodsand/or services. Work order 2201 may contain a goods/services databaseidentification of one or more particular goods and/or services, such asa VIN number 2203 of an automobile.

Work order 2201 may further include one or more specials 2204 relatingto goods and/or services, such as information relating to a sale for theparticular good and/or service. Specials 2204 may also includeinformation such as what a specific dealer 2101 or group of dealers 2101is offering in a particular sale and what VIN number 2203, set of VINnumbers, car make or car model the sale applies to. Specials may alsoinclude information relating to other goods and/or services, e.g. agasoline discount or maintenance discount, that may be associated withwith the purchase of an identified automobile or the purchase of anyautomobile from_from an identified dealer.

Work order 2201 may also include posting information 2205. Postinginformation 2205 may include when a particular good and/or service isavailable for purchase, when a sale price or special begins and when itends, and when an ad is to be made available for access by consumers2106. Work order 2201 may be acquired from customer 2107 by inputthrough a website, through oral discussion with account managers, orthrough access to a customer's 2107 website or advertisements. It is tobe understood that work order 2201 can be provided through any form ofcommunication that conveys information relating to the sale of goodsand/or services.

Referring again to FIG. 21, content distributor 2103 can be adapted tomanage content relating to the goods and/or services of customers 2107.Content distributor 2103 can include a content database 2104 adapted tohold information such as video, images, pictures, descriptive text,specials, sale prices, and other information as discussed above relatingto a customer's inventory. Content database 2104 can include informationrelated to a particular automobile (e.g. referenced by YIN number), amake or model of automobile, or a particular dealer 2101 or set ofdealers 2101. Content distributor 2103 can further include contentmanagement engine 2105. Content management engine 2105 can be adapted toprocess work order 2201, update content database 2104, and manage thedistribution of content to consumers 2106.

FIG. 23 illustrates generally a flow chart diagram of the operation ofcontent distributor 2103. At step 2301, content distributor 2103receives as input a work order 2201 from a customer. At step 2302,content management engine 2105 processes the work order 2201. The stepof processing the work order 2201 can include updating or storinginformation contained in content database 2104 based on the informationcontained in the work order 2201. At step 2303, content managementengine 2105 can work with automated production assistant 120 to findand/or create rich media video clips based on information provided bythe work order 2201. At step 2304, content management engine searchcontent database 2104 and other available databases for video of thesame or similar automobile(s) specified by work order 2201. The searchof content database 2104 may be based on the make, model, features,condition, or other characteristics of the car(s) specified by workorder 2201. If video of the requested automobile(s) is found, at 2305,the video can be modified by the automated production assistant 120 oran operator. The updated video can then be associated with the requestedautomobile(s) in content database 2104. Alternatively, the video(s) canbe left as is. If video of the requested automobile(s) is not found, atstep 2306 a rich media video clip can be created as described below.

FIG. 25 generally illustrates a block diagram of various resourcesavailable to content management engine 2105. Content database 2104includes a plurality of production templates 2502 that can aid inturning the information contained in work order 2201 into a video.Production templates 2502 can include graphic element templates 2504 andproduction timeline templates 2506. Production templates 2502 allow theraw feed information contained in a work order to be quickly put intousable video elements and are constantly updated and maintained. Contentmanagement engine 2105 also searches various data libraries 2508 forelements that can be used along with feed information to compile avideo. Data libraries 2508 can include VIN explosion libraries,libraries of images taken of new and used cars, pre-produced graphictransition and effects libraries, and script libraries for genericscripts, specific automobiles, and specific automobile models.

Content management engine 2105 can also operate with auto scriptgenerator 400 to automatically generate a script 562 or script segment.If a script relating to the same or a similar automobile(s) to theautomobile(s) indicated in work order 2201 is available, then script 562can be automatically generated based on an the existing scriptassociated with the same or similar automobile(s).

The feed information in work order 2201 is used to create a video atstep 2306 in FIG. 23 through a combination of human effort and logic, asshown in a block diagram in FIG. 26. Initially, a work order 2201 isreceived at step 2602 as previously described. The automated productionassistant than evaluates the work order at step 2604. The best graphicelement and production timeline templates, video elements and script arethen selected. To generate a script, the work order can be evaluated andthe automated production assistant can pick the best saleable featuresof the automobile identified in the work order 2201. A pre-existingvideo of the identified automobile, if one already exists, can beaccessed, or the YIN number of the automobile can be compared toexisting VIN feature libraries to aid in automatically generating ascript or script segment. The templates, elements, and script are thenpresented to a human producer as suggested best practice for assemblinga video from the work order at step 2606. The human producer, at step2608, then either accepts the suggested best practice or overrides andmodifies the suggested timeline and video elements to create the video.At, step 2610, the human produce can record the script and add it to thevideo. Alternatively, the voiceover for the script can be automaticallygenerated. A simulation of a human voice for the voiceover can begenerated using human voice simulation techniques commonly known in theart. As a further alternative, pre-recorded words or phrases can bestitched together to create the voice over.

Content management engine 2105 can also continuously or intermittentlymonitor the information contained in content database 2104 for changes.For example, when the time period for a special (as indicated by postinginformation 2205 in work order 2201) has expired or an automobile is nolonger available, the change can be reflected in content database 2104.

Content distributor 2103 can also update information regarding the goodsand/or services conveyed to consumers 2106 through dealer 2101 websiteor aggregation engine 2102 website. When a change occurs (typicallyindicated through input of work order 2201 or another trigger such aselapsed time), content management engine 2105 can modify the informationconveyed to consumers 2106. Alternatively, dealer 2101 website oraggregation engine 2102 website can have access to content database2104. Then, when a change occurs, one or more indicators in contentdatabase 2104 can be updated such that customer 2107 may reflect thechange in the information conveyed to consumers 2106.

Content management engine 2105 can further be adapted to modify a videofor a specific good and/or service based on a change. For example, avideo created for a particular automobile can be pre-pended, appended,overlaid, or spliced with additional information relating to the sale ofthat automobile such as a sale price, dealership identification of wherethe automobile is available, or specials associated with the purchase ofthat automobile. This additional information may take the form of, forexample, additional video, voice-over speech, or text. For example, thecontent management engine 2105 can modify the video to insert a newspecial 2204 that was recently made available.

Content management engine 2105 can also control the display ofinformation based on demographic information about consumer 2106, or bychoices consumer 2106 makes while searching for goods and/or services.In one embodiment, where consumer 2106 selects a particular automobilefor display on aggregation engine 2102 website or dealer 2101 website,content management engine 2105 can provide information about similarautomobiles that consumer 2106 may be interested in. When consumer 2106visits aggregation engine 2102 website or dealer 2101 website, contentmanagement engine 2105 can display pre-selected cars that demographicinformation indicates that consumer 2106 may be interested in. When aconsumer's 2106 demographic information or choices indicate interest ina particular special 2204 associated with an automobile, e.g. a discounton gasoline purchases, content management engine 2105 can provideinformation about other cars for which the same or similar specials 2204are offered.

FIG. 24 generally illustrates one manner of displaying informationrelating to the sale of goods and/or services as described herein. Adisplay 2401 can convey information related to goods and/or services inresponse to a search performed by a consumer 2106, such as a search fora particular make or model of automobile. Search can be performed on awebsite, such as, for example, a dealer 2101 website or a contentaggregator 2102 website. Display 2401 can include one or more videos2402 of goods and/or services selected based on the consumer search.Alternatively, display 2401 can result from a selection of a vehicle ona customer website. Display 2401 can include controls to manipulate thedisplay of video 2402, such as scroll bar 2404 as illustrated in FIG.24, or volume controls. Scroll bar 2404 can allow consumer to skip aheador go back in a video 2402. Display 2401 can further include additionaldescription 2403 related to the automobile depicted in the video 2402.Description 2403 can include, for example, text, pictures, or audioinformation further describing the automobile, or sales or specialsrelated to the automobile. Display 2401 can be presented through variousways, such as, for example, a web portal or a plug-in on a website.Display 2401 can be run by the same entity that runs the website onwhich it is presented or by a different entity. In one embodiment,display 2401 is presented on a client computer which receives commandsand information from a server.

When the consumer's search returns a video of more than one car thatmatches the search terms (or car selection on customer website), display2401 can include static depictions 2414 of additional search results2405. In one embodiment, video 2402 can seamlessly transition between arich media video clip corresponding to each search result depiction 2414in a sequential manner. As the video 2402 changes to display rich mediavideo clips of different automobiles, the additional description 2403can also change to correspond to the automobile currently beingdisplayed in the video. The additional search results 2405 can also beprovided to a user in a selectable format. Additional search results2405 can be provided to consumer 2106, for example, in the form ofthumbnails or text. In one embodiment,the consumer 2106 can skip betweenthe automobiles in the search results by clicking on the depiction 2414associated with a search result. The video 2402 will then seamlesslyskip to a rich media video clip for the selected result. The video 2402can then continue by playing the next search result, or, alternatively,can return to the first search result that was skipped.

Display 2401 can further include results showing similar automobile(s)2406. A depiction 2414, such as thumbnails or text, of automobileshaving similar features and/or similar specials to the automobile(s)searched for by the consumer can be displayed. If a consumer 2106selects one of the similar results, the video 2402 can seamlessly skipto a rich media video clip of the selected automobile and additionaldescription 2403 of the selected vehicle can be displayed. Once the richmedia video clip corresponding to the selected automobile has completed,the video can continue to display rich media video clips of similarautomobiles 2406, or can return to displaying rich media video clips ofthe automobiles in the additional search results 2405. Where display2401 results from a selection of a vehicle on a dealer or other website,similar automobile(s) 2406 can comprise, for example, similar newautomobile(s) or comparable used automobiles.

Video 2402 can be displayed in a seamless concatenated sequence 2408.Seamless sequence 2408 can include video clips of automobiles 2410 witheach automobile having a special 2412 relating to that automobile taggedthereto. Each special 2412 can play seamlessly along with the clip ofthe automobile 2410 to which it is tagged. One or more automobiles 2410can alternatively have multiple specials 2412 or no special 2410 taggedto it. The user can skip around in the sequence 2408 by clicking onadditional search results 2405 or similar vehicles 2406.

The behavior of consumers on customer websites, such as dealer websitesand aggregation engine websites, can be used to refine the display 2401.The description 2403 on display can be modified to display suggestedoptions to the consumer for refining the search results 2405. Forexample, where the click behavior of the consumer appears to indicatethat the consumer is interested in a certain special, the description2403 can display an option to allow the consumer to display all searchresults that are keyed to that particular special or similar specials.

Referring to FIG. 27, the click behavior of customers on dealer websites2702 and aggregation engine websites 2704 can also be used to refine thevideo clips presented on display 2401. The selections made by consumerson the websites 2702. 2704 are transmitted back to the automatedproduction assistant 120. The videos onto which consumers click the mostindicate which types of video elements are better at selling cars. Theproduction templates 2502 used, as well as the type, content andordering of the graphic elements and scripts suggested by the automatedproduction assistant 120, can subsequently be modified to include, ormake more prominent, such elements. Newly assembled video clips can alsotake these preferences into account. Modified and newly assembled videosincorporating user preferences based on the click behavior analysis canthen be presented on the websites 2702, 2704. In this way, the videoclips presented in display 2401 can continually be refined so that theelements comprising the clips are presented in a way that providesconsumers with the most relevant search results and customers the mosteffective advertising presentations.

The above description of the disclosed embodiment is provided to enableany person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Variousmodifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles described herein can beapplied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention which is limited by nothing other than the appendedclaims.

1-25. (canceled)
 26. A method implemented on a machine having aprocessor, storage, and a communication platform connected to a network,for creating a personalized web page, comprising: receiving a requestfor a web page personalized for a user and directed to a product;obtaining first information including information related to the userand second information characterizing one or more promotions associatedwith the product; and automatically creating the personalized web pagethat comprises a representation of a rich media video having one or morerich media video clips, wherein each of the rich media video clipdescribes at least one feature of the product and has been personalizedwith respect to the user based on the first and second information, andat least one text portion including communication content personalizedwith respect to the user based on the first and/or second information.27. The method of claim 26, wherein: the first information also includesinformation about a sale representative; and the communication contentin the at least one text portion of the personalized web page ispersonalized as communication between the sale representative and theuser.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the request for a personalizedweb page is received from the sale representative.
 29. The method ofclaim 26, further comprising at least one of: storing the createdpersonalized web page for future retrieval; associating the personalizedweb page with an actionable item on an additional web page so that whenthe user acts on the actionable item, the personalized web page istransmitted to the user; and transmitting the created personalized webpage and/or a link thereof as a response to the request.
 30. The methodof claim 29, wherein the personalized web page and/or the link thereofis sent to the user in an electronic communication about the product.31. The method of claim 30, wherein the link to the personalized webpage in the electronic communication can be activated by the user inorder for the personalized web page to be presented.
 32. The method ofclaim 30, wherein any of the rich media video clips in the personalizedweb page can be played back based on the user's choice.
 33. The methodof claim 26, wherein each of the one or more rich media video clips canbe dynamically updated based on behavior data associated with the user.34. The method of claim 26, wherein each of the at least one textportion can be dynamically updated based on information associated withthe user.
 35. A system having a processor, storage, and a communicationplatform connected to a network for creating a personalized web page,comprising: a content aggregator configured for receiving a request fora web page personalized for a user and directed to a product, andobtaining first information including information related to the userand second information characterizing one or more promotions associatedwith the product; and an automated production assistant configured forautomatically creating the personalized web page that comprises arepresentation of a rich media video having one or more rich media videoclips, wherein each of the rich media video clip describes at least onefeature of the product and has been personalized with respect to theuser based on the first and second information, and at least one textportion including communication content personalized with respect to theuser based on the first and/or second information.
 36. The system ofclaim 35, wherein: the first information also includes information abouta sale representative; and the communication content in the at least onetext portion of the personalized web page is personalized ascommunication between the sale representative and the user.
 37. Thesystem of claim 36, wherein the request for a personalized web page isreceived from the sale representative.
 38. The system of claim 35,wherein the content aggregator is further configured for at least oneof: storing the created personalized web page for future retrieval;associating the personalized web page with an actionable item on anadditional web page so that when the user acts on the actionable item,the personalized web page is transmitted to the user; and transmittingthe created personalized web page and/or a link thereof as a response tothe request.
 39. The system of claim 38, wherein the personalized webpage and/or the link thereof is sent to the user in an electroniccommunication about the product.
 40. The system of claim 39, wherein thelink to the personalized web page in the electronic communication can beactivated by the user in order for the personalized web page to bepresented.
 41. The system of claim 39, wherein any of the rich mediavideo clips in the personalized web page can be played back based on theuser's choice.
 42. A machine-readable tangible and non-transitory mediumhaving information for creating a personalized web page, wherein theinformation, when read by the machine, causes the machine to perform thefollowing: receiving a request for a web page personalized for a userand directed to a product; obtaining first information includinginformation related to the user and second information characterizingone or more promotions associated with the product; and automaticallycreating the personalized web page that comprises a representation of arich media video having one or more rich media video clips, wherein eachof the rich media video clip describes at least one feature of theproduct and has been personalized with respect to the user based on thefirst and second information, and at least one text portion includingcommunication content personalized with respect to the user based on thefirst and/or second information.
 43. The medium of claim 42, wherein:the first information also includes information about a salerepresentative; and the communication content in the at least one textportion of the personalized web page is personalized as communicationbetween the sale representative and the user.
 44. The medium of claim43, wherein the request for a personalized web page is received from thesale representative.
 45. The medium of claim 42, wherein theinformation, when read by the machine, further causing the machine toperform at least one of: storing the created personalized web page forfuture retrieval; associating the personalized web page with anactionable item on an additional web page so that when the user acts onthe actionable item, the personalized web page is transmitted to theuser; and transmitting the created personalized web page and/or a linkthereof as a response to the request.